Pathways Preview: Junior Reps Round 1

Luke Phillips, who played over 100 NRL games including 22 for Manly (1998) and is a former NRL referee, is coaching the U17s girls. He has focused on “our systems and standards” in the pre-season.

“We’ve spent a lot of time on defence, effort areas, and building a work ethic that doesn’t drop when fatigue sets in,” Phillips said. 

“In the opening rounds, I want to see a team that’s connected, resilient, and comfortable staying in the fight. If we’re defending well, completing sets, and trusting what we’ve trained, the results will take care of themselves.”

Coaching the girls has brought many rewards, Phillips said.

“The best part is seeing the growth, not just as footballers, but as people. A lot of these girls are at the very start of their rugby league journey, and you can genuinely influence how they see themselves in the game.

They’re coachable, enthusiastic, and hungry to learn.

Luke Phillips Manly Coach - Lisa Fiaola Cup

Harold Matthews Cup

It’s a similar story for former Australian Schoolboys representative, Tom Giles, who played in the lower grades at the Roosters, Sharks and Rabbitohs and will be in charge of Manly’s U17s boys.

The 25-year-old was captain-coach of the 2024 premiership-winning Young Cherrypickers in NSWRL’s Group 9 competition – it was the side’s first premiership in the top grade in 33 years.

His Harold Matthews side will benefit from the talent moving up from Manly’s U16s Development team coached by 2008 premiership-winning captain and halfback Matt Orford.

They’re young, they’re skilful and they’re fit.

Tom Giles Manly Coach - Harold Matthews Cup

“We can score points but they showed in the trial matches they can defend. I’ve got a very mobile forward pack – not one of the biggest – but their skillset is unreal. Matty (Orford) has done a tremendous job so they’re up for it. We’ll surprise a few teams I reckon.

“I’m early in my coaching career but we’ve built a great culture here in the pre-season through training, beach sessions, team dinners. It’s only a short comp so we’re switched on already.”

Tarsha Gale Cup

Ray Windle brings a wealth of experience in the U19s. He was with the SG Ball sides at both the Wests Tigers and Roosters and in the female game, he helped win NSWRL premierships in Tarsha Gale for the Roosters in both 2022 and 2023.

Manly are trying to build a strong female pathways program, and I was involved in that at the Roosters so that’s why I came across.

Ray Windle Manly Coach - Tarsha Gale Cup

Since Manly have no senior NSW Women’s Premiership side, many Sea Eagles from U19s last year have gone to other clubs leaving Windle to recruit from areas as far afield as Bathurst and Newcastle.

“Our program will be so good – starting with this season – that in the coming seasons we’ll be enticing the local girls back. We will have girls coming up from Lisa Fiaola as well.”

While Windle has been concentrating on tackling and ball skills, with so many new faces he’s also leaned heavily into team-bonding sessions so teammates get to know each other.

“I’ve seen the progress and the girls are seeing it themselves. If you based this year’s competition on enthusiasm, they’d win it,” Windle said. “I want to organically grow this Tarsha Gale side so we develop our girls locally.

“I just want them to be competitive this year so we grow into a formidable club.”

SG Ball Cup

Another experienced hand is guiding the U19s Sea Eagles – recently retired NRL hooker and half Lachlan Croker, who played 125 NRL games for Manly (2016-2025) after coming through the Canberra Raiders junior representative sides.

The brains trust doesn’t stop there with fellow NRL players Brad Parker, Jack and Cooper Johns eager to turn around a disappointing 2025 season which saw Manly finish with a 1-8 win-loss record.

“The most obvious area to improve after a disappointing year is generally defensive and that is the case with us. We have worked really hard teaching the boys the defensive principles that we feel were good to us when we played,” Croker said.

The other side to that is working hard for one another and being proud to wear the Manly jersey.

Lachlan Croker Manly Coach - SG Ball Cup

"We have put a lot of work into building connections amongst our boys and highlighting how important these days of their lives are and how fondly they can look back on some of their relationships they make here.

“Hard work, resilience and being a good team mate are the traits the we have valued during the pre-season and are, what I believe, the values that hold players in good stead as they progress through the grades.”

The NSWRL Junior Reps season will be played over nine rounds, with the last round on 4-5 April. Four weeks of finals will follow with the Grand Finals in all four competitions set to be played on Saturday 2 May at Leichhardt Oval.